Customer Reviews

Public Enemies: The Host of America's Most Wanted Targets the Nation's Most Notorious Criminals

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I have read two previous books by John Walsh that include Tears of Rage and No Mercy. His TV show, America's Most Wanted is now up to 700 captures of wanted criminals. In this book he takes us through several hard hitting cases directly from the TV show. Of course the book allows much more detail of the grisly deeds done by these heartless cold blooded criminals.

The chapter about the Railroad Killer that received so much news coverage was spine chilling.

He also spends time detailing the crime of Ira Einhorn who was recently expelled from France to stand trial (for the second time) here in the U.S.

I highly recommend this book.

John Walsh is great at fighting crime and has found a new voice in writing about the criminals he helps take off the streets. Pulblic Enemies grabs you at the begining and holds on tight. Every story is chilling and you are glad that John Walsh is out there watching over us like a big brother. The story of the Yosemite murders was particularly chilling. It thoroughly explains how the women where in a very dark and secluded section of the Motel. It actually gave me the creeps. Mr. Walsh does not exploit the victims or their families, he just tells the story like it is and leaves the reader with a real empathy for the people involved.

I have always been an admirer of John Walsh and this book reinforces that belief. The way he refocused his grief and anger after the murder of his son into a crusade for justice for victims of crime and their family is a testament to the his sincerity. I enjoyed reading about the behind the scene stories involving the cases profiled. Especially the funny stories during his ride along with police officers for an episode of COPS.

The book reinforces the importance of keeping your eyes open and reporting any suspicious activities. The police can't be everywhere. They need the eyes and ears of the general public. Time and time again have proven that it's viewer tips which have helped police catch these scumbags. Imagine what would have happened if someone in that apartment building had reported the suspicious odor coming from Ira Eichorn's apartment right away? Holly Maddux's family would not still be waiting for justice. He would not have had over 15 years of freedom in Europe. I did not know that my senator, Arlen Specter was his lawyer. I wonder what he says now about his famous client - his arguements for bail was ludicrous. The judge was insane to grant such a low bail but he had friends in high places and money & fame talks.I don't regularly watch AMW but I think I will now.

As an avid fan of America's Most Wanted and host John Walsh, I first began reading his books on the cases when No Mercy was released. When I visited my library recently and found that hehad just published a third book (second dealing with cases from AMW), I was on it without delay. After reading the book, I was not disappointed at all.

Unlike the last 2 books, this one goes a step further and shows us what really happens with the cases after the cameras are off. They don't sit around and sip coffee or pound down donuts...the people who work on the cases featured in the book show that with a little dogged determination and hard work, the fugitives of AMW are caught with amazing speed and rarely with extreme violence.

The book also touches the raw emotional level that we feel for the victims of the crimes and those affected by the senseless acts. I was heartbroken when I read the chapter on the woman who lost her seven-year-old daughter to drug violence and got the justice that she wanted for herself and her child, only to pass away a few years later.

But there are those rare times in the book where you can laugh a little at the exploits of the AMW team. The chapter which features a AMW/Cops crossover features the funny moment when John, assisting in the somewhat hilarious capture of a thief, suddenly gets crushed when the guy is cut from a fence and lands on the one thing closest to him...John.

I loved the book and I hope that John and the AMW team release a new edition with more cases in the not too distant future.

I bought this book while on vacation. I don't watch John Walsh's TV show, America's Most Wanted; in fact, I probably haven't ever seen an entire episode all the way through. I had heard something about all the criminals discussed. The big appeal of this book is the beginning-to-end coverage of crimes that I knew previously only through a series of sound bites. Like Time Magazine, it expresses opinions rather than remaining neutral on its subjects, and, like Time, mixes together subjective and objective statements to create a blend this is most informative. The biggest surprise, and a plus for the book, is the insights John Walsh gives of us of how both he and other relatives of crime victims react to the crimes, both immediately and in the long term.

.............I think he does a wonderful job at putting these works together. The only bone I have a the moment is that Mr. Walsh tends to make all his victims heroes/saints/outstanding figures of society. That cannot be true. All victims are not saint-like. Conversely, the bad guys have no worthy trauma in their background. Cut and dried, bad is bad, no slack from Mr. Walsh. I'm still thinking about that theory.

John Walsh is one of my heroes. This book, as his others, is another excellent in-depth look at Walsh's recent cases on America's Most Wanted. This book starts with a bang and keeps up the pace. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to protect themselves and their families from the becoming victims. These cases will open your eyes.

Usually I'm a very jaded person; there are times when my indifference towards man's inhumanity to man knows no bounds. But when it comes to John Walsh's latest team-up (once again with Phil Lerman) tome about some of the most notorious true crime cases that AMW has ever profiled, I've come to realize that there's still some vestiges of humanity left within me. Perhaps I'm not too far gone after all!

Although the language and writing is a bit different and slightly toned down in some manners compared to previous AMW novels, the emotional impact it unleashed upon my psyche was just as powerful as those previous true-crime tomes. With the help of Lerman, Walsh brings forward his thoughts on the horrors perpetrated by some of the show's most ruthless criminals in such a way that I couldn't help but feel for the victims and their families. The main reason is W&L's emphasis more on the lives and memories of the crime victims than the perpetrators, which is a rare occurrence in the true-crime section. The fear of not knowing what has happened to a loved one, the despair and heartbreak of a close friend or family member having been discovered murdered, the anger and sense of purpose towards the one(s) who did the deed, and the slight elation and sense of closure when the perpetrator is captured- all of these emotions were transferred to me to some degree as I read each heart-rending chapter. Although I didn't experience these emotions nearly to the degree that the victims did, I did gain a grain of empathy, and a better understanding about what it's like to be forever changed by the callous actions of evildoers.

Included in this AMW outing were eight cases, ranging from low- to high-profile. W&L discuss such big-time media events as the attempts to extradite `Unicorn Killer' Ira Einhorn to the US from France. Walsh also goes into his confrontation with Einhorn on his way to an extradition hearing, and almost getting into fisticuffs with one of the accused killer's bodyguards. Other well-covered crimes include Rafael Resendez-Ramirez, the `Railroad Killer', and the Yosemite-area serial murderer Cary Stayner. And of course there's the obligatory `cold'-case-turned-hot: the capture of an SLA helper/sympathizer who was on the run for almost twenty years.

There's also the lesser-known cases, which often get buried under the more sensationalistic headlines of the day. The chapter involving child-killer Kyle Bell profiled one of the few fugitives AMW had to capture twice- once after the murder, and once after his escape following his murder conviction. Also recounted is the hunt for and capturing of a member of a street gang involved in a shootout with a rival gang at a housing project, resulting in the death of a seven-year-old girl.

Out of all of the cases depicted here, however, probably the most interesting- and incredible- is the story of a fugitive who was profiled on AMW, then captured on `Cops'. It's one of those amazing one-in-a-billion co-inky-dinks that prove the point that truth is indeed stranger than fiction! I'll not go into any further detail about it; you'll have to read it for yourself!

`Late